(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates, in general, to the techniques of diagraphy and of the exploitation of underground drilling.
More precisely, the invention relates, according to a first aspect, to an inflatable sleeve also called “packer” by those skilled in the art, this sleeve comprising a mandrel extending along a longitudinal axis and a sealed inflatable jacket connected to the mandrel and selectively adopting a rest configuration or a maximum inflation configuration.
(2) Prior Art
The inflatable sleeves are well known by those skilled in the art and are traditionally used in diagraphy or in exploitation of the underground for blocking drilling, as well as in pressure metering for evaluating the mechanical parameters of the ground in situ.
Although an inflatable sleeve can, according to its application, be inflated by a gas under pressure or by a liquid under pressure, the implementation of such a sleeve is always rendered delicate by the risk of an uncontrolled deformation and/or of a rupture of its jacket.